Moistening device



Sept. 19, 1961 F. J. MALLET 3,000,348

MOISTENING DEVICE Filed Aug. 26, 1957 2 SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR 1 5 50 J/W/uur A ORNEY p 19, 1961 F. J. MALLET 3,000,348

MOISTENING DEVICE /6 M T mu] 6 M g lNVENTOR 8 F550 14444457 *7 5 Y M- 22 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,000,348 MOISTENING DEVICE Fred J. Mallet, Park Sheraton Hotel, 7th Ave. and 55th St., New York, N.Y. Filed Aug. 26, 1957, Ser. No. 680,047 2 Claims. (Cl. 118-246) This invention relates generally to liquid applying devices.

Devices of this type may be used for moistening gummed surfaces, such as those on envelopes, labels, stamps, and the like, or for applying glue to a surface to be gummed.

An object of the invention is to provide a moistening device for moistening a gummed surface, or for applying glue to a surface to be gurnmed, which is effectively rapid and sanitary in its operation, is convenient to use and to service, and which is economical to produce in large quantities.

Another object of the invention is to provide a moistening device of the aforenoted character set forth which has a demountable cover arranged to provide access to the interior of the casing and the liquid reservoir therein.

Other objects of the invention will be set forth hereinafter, or will be apparent from the description and the drawings, in which is illustrated an embodiment exemplifying the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to any particular construction, or any particular arrangement of parts, or any particular application of any such construction or arrangement of parts, or any specific method of operation or use, or any of the various details thereof, even where specifically shown and described herein, as the same may be modified in various particulars, or may be applied in many varied relations, without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, of which the exemplifying embodiment, herein shown and described, is intended only to be illustrative, and only for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the statutes for disclosure of an operative embodiment, but not to show all the various forms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied.

On the drawings, in which the same reference characters refer to the same parts throughout, and in which is'disclosed such a practical construction.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a moistening device embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the casing of themoistening device and a bottom plan veiw of the associated cover, to enlarged scale;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line '33 of FIG. 2, with the cover shown mounted in assembled position, the cover also being shown, by broken lines, as demounted from the casing;

FIG. 4-is a sectional view, substantially'on the line 44 of FIG. 3, parts being shown broken away;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of certain parts of the moisten'er, broken away in section to reveal structural details; and

FIG. 6 is a detail sectional view, taken substantially onthe line 66ofFIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a moistening device 10 is shown as comprising a casing 12 and a cover 14, the latter being demountable from the casing toprovide access to the interior of thecasing and a liquid reservoir 16 defined by the casing. The casing and cover may be formed of any suitable material, as, for instance, by die-casting or moulding from metal, plastics, or the like, and may be cast, molded, or otherwise produced in any conventional manner.

Casing 12 may include a base wall 18, sidewalls 20 and 22, and a front wall 24. A rear upstandingn-ib or flange 26, together with sidewalls 20 and 22 and front wall 24, is disposed to interfit with the cover. The casing is partitioned by a vertical wall 28 which, in conjunction with front wall 24 and sidewalls 20 and 22, defines reservoir 16. The casing is provided with legs or footings 30, which may be of friction material to keep the casing from skidding. The casing is reinforced at the corner portions of its underside as shown at 32.

The forward portions of sidewalls 20 and 22 are thickened, as indicated at 34. These thickened portions are provided with pairs of vertical slots 36 and 38 for mounting companion rollers 40 and 42. The rollers may be of hollow construction, as, for instance, being made from a tubular part 44 having end plugs 46 secured therein in fluid-sealing relation. End plugs 46 are flanged, as indicated at 48, and have centrally disposed trunnions 50 which define the axes of rotation of the rollers. Trunnions 50 of the lower roller 40 rest in the pair of aligned open bearing slots 36. The trunnions of upper roller 42 rest in the pair of aligned open bearing slots 38.

One trunnion 50 of the upper roller may be elongated to extend through its slot 38 to a position externally of the casing. At that position, a serrated knob 52 may be secured to trunnion 50', to provide means manually to rotate roller 42. Since roller 42 rests on roller 40,it thereby causes roller 40 to rotate, resulting in picking up liquid from the reservoir and transferring the liquid to the surface to be wetted.

The external surfaces of the rollers are longitudinally ribbed or serrated to facilitate liquid transfer. Lower roller 40 dips into the liquid of the reservoir. Upper roller 42 rests on the surface of the lower roller so that liquid is transferred to the upper roller and the surface to be wetted on the rotation of the rollers. Trunnions 50 and 50' of the upper roller do not bottom on their companion slots 38. Thus, the upper roller rests on its companion lower roller (FIGS. 3 and 4). The rollers may be of any suitable construction other than the construction specifically described here, and may be formed of any suitable material. The liquid in the reservoir may be water if the surface to be moistened is already gummed, or any suitable adhesive if the surface to be treated is not already gummed.

Cover 14 comprises a wall 54 which extends from a flat section to an arcuate section, and conforms generally to the contour of top edges 56 of sidewalls 20 and 22. Wall 54, at its forward side parts, is'provide'd with a pair of aligned arcuate upstanding extensions 57 and 57'; which are recessed or cut away as indicated at 58 to provide clearance for portions 34 of the casing sidewalls. Also the extensions are recessed or cut away as indi-' cated at 60 to provide clearance for upper roller 42. Extension 57' is slotted as indicated at 62 for the extension therethrough of trunnion 50'. 0

Wall 54, between extensions 57 and 57, has an open ing or slot 64 for the projection therethrough of upper roller 42. The forward edge 65 of wall 54 has a pair of spaced depending abutments 66. Edge 65 and abutments 66 are adapted to engage the top edge 68 of Wall 24 when the cover is mounted on the casing (FIG. 3). Depending from an intermediate part of wall 54 are a pair of spaced aligned abutments 70 which are disposed to interfit with the top edge 72 of partition wall 28. The rear edge 74'of wall 54 interfits with upstanding flange 26 of the casing. 7

The cover is demounted from the casing by merely lifting it vertically off the casing, as indicated in broken lines (FIG. 3). When the cover is mounted upon the casing, edge 65 and its abutments 66, abutments 70, and edge 74 of wall 54 interfit with edge 68, edge 72,, and flange 26 respectively, of the casing. interfitting relation assures the proper orientation of the cover with respect to the casing.

Adjustably mounted on wall 54, in relation to upper roller 42, is a guide member 76 which has thickened end portions 78 (FIG. 6). Portions 78 are provided with elongated apertures 80. Wall 54 is provided with elongated apertures 82. Extending through registering apertures 80 and 82 are fasteners 84 to secure guide member 76 in adjusted position on the cover. The guide member is adjustable with respect to upper roller 42 by virtue of the elongated apertures 80 and 82 A shallow elongated slot 86 is defined between guide member 76 and wall 54 for the passage of articles to which liquid material is to be applied by upper roller 42. The entrance part of guide member 76 is inclined away from wall 54, as indicated at 88, to facilitate the introduction of articles through slot 86. Guide member 76 is centrally recessed, as indicated at 90, to facilitate the manipulation and advancement of an article through slot 86.

An article to be treated by the device is pulled through guide slot 86, and is brought into contact with the part of upper roller 42 projecting through slot 64 to effect such treatment. By such treatment, the rollers are rotated, to present a moistened surface in the manner described.

Many other changes could be eflected in the particular constructions, and in the methods of use and construction, and in specific details thereof, hereinbefore set forth, without substantially departing from the invention intended to be defined herein, the specific description being merely of an embodiment capable of illustrating certain principles of the invention.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. A moistening or liquid applying device comprising a casing having a base, a pair of side walls, and an end wall upstanding at one end of the base between the side walls, a flange at the edge of the base removed from the end wall, a partition Wall extending upwardly from the base between the side walls and substantially parallel to and spaced from both the end wall and the flange, the walls and the base defining a reservoir, the inside face of each of the side walls having a recess therein, the recess having a downwardly directed section, the recess providing an upwardly and laterally opening slot, each side wall having a projection above its top edge, the projection having a kerf opening upwardly through the top of the projection, a pair of rolls, each roll having end faces and pins extending laterally from the end faces, the pins being receivable in the kerfs and slots, the rolls being of such length that the end faces of each roll are closely adjacent and have slight clearance with relation to the inside faces of the side walls when the pins are in the kerfs or slots, the rollers, when their pins are received in the slots and kerfs, being one above the other, the lower roller having its pins in the slots and the upper roller having its pins in the kerfs, the kerf of one of the projections extending through that projection and the pin in that kerf extending through the kerf to the outside of the casingand having a handle mounted thereon, the kerf and slot of each side wall being in vertical lines laterally displaced with relation to each other, and the rolls being displaced out of vertical alignment, the kerfs being long enough so that the upper roll rests upon and drives the lower roller and may move vertically with the lower roller, the lower roller being positioned to be disposed in the liquid in the reservoir while the upper roller rides free of the body of liquid in the reservoir, a cover for the device,

. the cover being entirely free of anchorage to any wall or part of the base and having a front wall for reception upon the casing end wall, said front-wall having a flange for seatingwi'thin the endwall, the cover having side walls with inwardly turned annular flanges, the

annularflanges, when the cover is positioned an the cats ing, encompassing the end faces of the top rollers to retain the upper rollers against accidental separation, the cover having an access opening between the flanges for access to make contact with the face of the upper roller through said access opening, the cover having projections to nest against and'on the reservoir side of a partition wall, the last mentioned projections and said front wall flange cooperating to retain the cover in fixed but removable relation to the rollers, and the cover having a free end edge engaging against the face of the flange facing said partition wall.

2. A moistening or liquid applying device comprising a casing having a base, a pair of side Walls, and an end wall upstanding at one end of the base between the side walls, a flange at the edge of the base removed from the end wall, a partition wall extending upwardly from the base between the side Walls and substantially parallel to and spaced from both the end wall and the flange, the walls and the base defining a reservoir, the inside face of each of the side Walls having a recess therein, the recess having a downwardly directed section, the recess providing an upwardly and laterally opening slot, each side wall having a projection above its top edge, the projection having a kerf opening upwardly through the top of the projection, a pair of rolls, each roll having end faces and pins extending laterally from the end faces, the pins being receivable in the kerfs and slots, the rolls being of such length that the end faces of each roll are closely adjacent and have slight clearance with relation to the inside faces of the side Walls when the pins are in the kerfs or slots, the rollers, when their pins are received in the slots and kerfs, being one above the other, the lower roller having its pins in the slots and the upper roller having its pins in the kerfs, the kerf of one of the projections extending through that projection and the pin in that kerf extending through the kerf to the outside of the casing and having a handle mounted thereon, the kerf and slot of each side wall being in vertical lines laterally displaced with relation to each other, and the rolls being displaced out of vertical alignment, the kerfs being long enough so that the upper roll rests upon and drives the lower roller and may move vertically with the lower roller, the lower roller being positioned to be disposed in the liquid in the reservoir while the upper roller rides free of the body of liquid in the reservoir, a cover for the device, the cover being entirely free of anchorage to any wall or part of the base and having a front wall for reception upon the casing end wall, said front wall having a flange for seating within the end wall, the cover having side walls cooperating with the projections to close the kerfs and retain the pins against movement out of the kerfs, the cover side walls having inwardly turned annular flanges, the annular flanges, when the cover is positioned on the casing, encompassing the end faces of the top rollers to retain the upper rollers against accidental separation, the cover having an access opening between the flanges for access to make contact with the face of the upper roller through said access opening, the cover having projections to nest against and on the reservoir side of the partition wall, the last mentioned projections and said front wall flange cooperating to retain the cover in fixed but removable relation to the rollers, and the cover having a free end edge engaging against the face of the flange facing said partition wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

